Blue Ribbon and Pure Gold cook book

Use only pure vinegar in making pickles. As vinegar is weakened by boiling, it should not be boiled more than is necessary. For Sweet Pickles the syrup should be rich enough to keep without sealing. Brown sugar makes a better flavored syrup than white sugar. A typical vinegar syrup is 1 quart vinegar, 3 to 4 pounds sugar, 1 tablespoon Pure Gold pickling spice. Apples, water melon rinds, citron, cucumbers and pears should be steamed until tender enough to pierce with a fork before pouring the hot syrup over them, as it then penetrates them more readily. Smooth skinned fruits, like plums, etc., should be pricked with a needle before being cooked in the syrup. Peaches, if very ripe, do not need steaming; but otherwise they do. They are sometimes merely rubbed well with a cloth, but some peel them. The Method of Making Sweet Pickles is to prepare the syrup, bring it to a boil, put in the pickles, and boil until tender; then put into jars. Another way is to prepare the syrup and pour it boiling hot on the pickles, let it stand until next day, drain off the syrup, boil it, pour on hot again, and repeat this for 3 or 4 days; then seal hot. Either plan works well. A Hint—Many people do not know that sweet pickles can be made from canned fruit of almost any kind. All that is needed is to take the syrup, add vinegar and any spices desired, boil it up, and pour it again on the fruit. 124 Blue Ribbon Cook Book Pickled Beets—Wash and boil, peel, and cut in slices } inch thick. Take vinegar enough to cover, add 1 tablespoon Pure Gold pickling spice to each quart and boil 5 minutes; pour it on the beets and cover closely. 4 cup sugar may be added. Pickled Red Cabbage—Slice it into a colander and sprinkle each layer with salt; let it drain 2 days, then put it into a jar, and pour boiling vinegar enough to cover, and put in a few slices of red beetroot. Those who like the flavor of spice will boil it with the vinegar. Cauliflower cut into flowerets and put in after being salted will turn pink. Cucumber Pickles—Pick when 2 or 3 inches long; no larger. Wash, dry, and put in a jar. Take 2 tablespoons Pure Gold pickling spice, sprinkle the cucumbers in the jar with the spice, add more cucumbers, then more spice, and so on alternately until the jar is full. This amount of spice is for a 2 quart jar. Fill the jar with vinegar, cold, screw on the cover, and in about 4 or 5 weeks they will be ready for use. By this method, one can pick cucumbers each day, using as many jars as they will fill. Pickled Cauliflower—Break the head into small pieces, and boil in salt and water 10 or 15 minutes; then drain carefully, and place in jars when cold. Put Pure Gold pickling spice in a bag, using 1 tablespoon to a quart of vinegar and scald; take the vinegar from the stove, take out the bag, and to each quart add } cup sugar; pour it over the cauliflower, and cover tightly. A little Pure Gold mustard may be added, if desired. Pickled Onions—Peel small, white onions of even size; cover with a strong brine (1 cup salt to 2 quarts boiling water), and let stand 2 days. Drain, cover with boiling water; let stand 10 minutes; drain. Pack into jars. To every gallon of onions use about 1 quart vinegar, } cup sugar, and 1 to 8 tablespoons Pure Gold mixed pickling spice. Scald ingredients; fill jars with liquid and seal. Dill Pickles—1 peck firm, well-shaped green cucumbers, 5 or 6 inches long. Clean well; put layer in bottom of large stone crock; add layer of dill (stalks, leaves, and seed balls), and repeat until crock is $ full. Make a brine vinegar solution (1 pound salt, 1} pints vinegar, 1} gallons water). Cover the cucumbers, weigh down securely with 8 or 10 pound weight. Let stand to cure for 3 or 4 weeks. Cucumbers will be transparent and light in color. Whole Pickled Cucumbers (Gherkins)—4 quarts small green cucumbers of even size, 2 quarts boiling water, 1 cup salt.